Piece of Mind
by Macx
Summary: set in the Fire & Ice universe; Nick MacKenzie is attacked by Kitt through neuro implant link and nearly killed. While trying to find the reason why, he and Karr discover some rather disturbing facts...


**Piece of Mind**   
by Birgit Stäbler

He felt disoriented. He couldn't move and he couldn't scream, only exist, motionless, as if paralyzed, waiting for the pain to stop. His mind reached for the other presence he knew had to be within him. But all he encountered was emptiness. Frightening, all-encompassing emptiness.   
What was happening to him?   
Why did he feel this pain?   
Where was he?   
//Michael?//   
"Scanning pattern," a cold, inflectionless voice suddenly said.   
Kitt cried out in protest as it brushed over his CPU.   
"Pattern recognized."   
He gasped as something tore into him. There was suddenly the feeling of being stretched.....   
"Proceeding."   
"No!" Kitt screamed as he recognized what was happening. Whoever had hacked into him, whoever had done this, he was now transferring files into him.   
"No, you can't do this!" he protested, a weak voice inside a torrent of streams of energy.   
And then there was only nothing.

* * *

It came out of the blue. He would never have expected it, he would never have seen it coming, and if someone had told him it could happen, Nicholas MacKenzie would have given them a mild smile. He had been under attack from an AI bonded to his mind before and he knew that this particular AI wouldn't do it ever again. Karr had accepted his partner. That Kitt could ever pose a danger hadn't entered his mind at all. Kitt was connected to Michael Knight and shared a private link with his older brother Karr. That was it. Nick couldn't touch him any more than Michael could reach for Karr. Between each human sat his fiercely protective partner.   
Nick was home at the time, stocking the fridge with everything he had shopped for in the last hours. Most of it would go into the freezer. The fridge had been empty enough to hear echoes in it. Michael had remarked that if he heard it say 'Zuul', he'd seriously think about calling an exterminator. Since Michael had taken himself out of the shopping picture by going on a case, Nick had taken over battling the forces of commerce.   
Something rippled through the back of his mind, but he ignored it. Sometimes Karr shifted his presence, sometimes he was feeling echoes of what his partner was doing, and he had learned to ignore it. If it was something important, Karr would inform him. As far as Nick knew, Karr was browsing through the web, doing something or other to entertain himself.   
It came suddenly. There was no time to prepare. It was vicious, cold, tearing into him. Nick had no time to scream as it sliced through his mind the first time, leaving in its wake a searing trail of icy fire. The yogurt slipped from his hands and bounced off the kitchen floor. Hands flailed for a support and grabbed the edge of the counter.   
He had no time to think, just to react, to counter-act what had invaded his mind with the force of an eighteen-wheeler convoy. Nick lashed back instinctively, using what he had perfected throughout the first weeks he had shared his mind with Karr. It was ancient history, but he had never forgotten how to do it. It was a skill he could never unlearn.   
The thing in his mind screamed shrilly, like a wounded animal, enraged by the pain its prey inflicted on him, turned back to Nick. Feral eyes regarded him, assessing the prey, snarling, hissing, snapping. It wanted him dead, he realized. Nick gasped as he recognized the brilliant white light, a light that hurt his mental eyes. It bathed everything into sharp relief, turning the world into black and white.   
Kitt? he thought, confusion mixing with the need to survive. How? Why.....?   
The next wave of attack left no room for more thought. He screamed as spikes of liquid agony shot through him. He clenched his teeth so hard he thought he'd crack his jaw. Pain rippled through his mind and he felt muscles twitch involuntarily. Darkness edged toward him and he fought it. If he slipped, who knew what would happen to him. He fought the presence, calling for help, trying to reach his partner. But between him and Karr, Kitt sat like a wild animal, watching his every move, snarling softly. The next attack came quickly. Claws ripped into his mental planes, tearing them apart, ripping them to shreds. He fled, trying to shield, but each shield was blown apart.   
Karr...> he tried, only to be rewarded with the slicing, dicing knives of Kitt's presence violating his mind.   
He lost track of time as he lay on the cold kitchen floor, tears streaming down his face. There was only pain, but it wouldn't let him fall into unconsciousness. Survival instinct kept him fighting back.   
Suddenly something struck at the attacker. Nick turned weakly, every movement evoking more pain. Inside his mind-world, he was a torn, bleeding presence, weak and shivering. He cried out as pain lanced through him again; he had never been that badly hurt before and it was slowly taking away every rational thought. Like through a veil he saw Karr's dark, smooth presence lash out against Kitt, driving him back, away from Nick. A single tendril approached the fallen man, carefully brushing over him.   
Nick hissed in pain and Karr snapped back the tendril. He renewed his effort to get Kitt out and suddenly, mercifully, the harsh, white light was gone. The mind-world was thrown into darkness, before light came back. Gentler this time; familiar.   
Nick?>   
The voice was chilly but warm nevertheless. Nick curled up into a small a target as possible, shivering. Coherent thought was beyond him and he hurt. Badly. Something touched him and he tried to get away, but it was impossible. The thing wrapped itself around his hurting presence, cool and soft to the touch, warm and gentle at the same time.   
Why?   
He didn't know if he had spoken out loud, but the presence reacted.   
I don't know. I don't understand it either> Anger and confusion seeped into the words.   
After a while, he stopped shivering, but the pain stayed. It echoed around his mind like a bad dream, remaining, feeding on his strength.   
Kitt? he wanted to know.   
Yes, it was him>   
He groaned softly. How could Kitt have done that? Why?   
He used my private link to him to throw himself across my CPU. He smashed the barriers. I have no idea how he could have done that>   
Smashed? The Barriers? Nick's shields could keep out Karr if he was pushing, so how had Kitt....?   
Karr curled tightly around him, just being there. He couldn't take the pain away, but he would be there.   
Thank you.   
Time passed. Nick slipped into a comatose state, surrendering to Karr, trusting him to keep off another attack. Nothing happened; nothing at all. When he came to again, he still lay on the kitchen floor. Blurry eyes taking in the counter right before him, he tried to get his senses together. Karr was with him, a sentinel for his mind, a guardian for his sanity.   
How long had he been out?   
Three hours> was the reply.   
At this rate of interfacing with his partner, nothing Nick thought would pass Karr by. As if he felt his driver's discomfort at that, Karr pulled back a bit.   
Getting up was a trial. Nick felt weak, his legs barely able to support his body, and getting to the couch was an ordeal. He collapsed onto the cushions, closing his eyes.   
Where is Kitt?> he asked after a while.   
I don't know. I blocked everything. He can't get close>   
Even the personal link?>   
Yes>   
Protectiveness flooded through him. If Karr had to decide between his partner and Nick, he would make the right choice. He had made the right choice.   
Thank you>   
Silence settled between them and Nick briefly pondered getting up to grab some painkillers, then his weakened body protested. Every move was too much.   
Why?>   
I don't know. He was different. Feral. Violent....> A shiver passed through the silky darkness.   
Are you hurt?>   
No. He hit me, but it was a moderate bruise>   
Nick sighed deeply and finally crawled off the couch and into the bathroom where he kept his medical cabinet. He swallowed the extra-strong painkillers and then made it back to the couch. His head was an aching mess, worse than after the early attacks from Karr on a much younger Nick. Karr had tried to beat him into submission back then, Kitt had tried to kill him. Plain and simple.   
Why?   
The question didn't go away. It rebounded off the walls of his mind.   
Have you tried contacting him?>   
No!> Karr snarled, then whispered an apology as Nick moaned softly in pain. No, I shut him out completely. I'm reluctant to inquire because it might give him an opening to wedge himself through>   
Try to contact Michael....> he said slowly, coherent thinking failing him again.   
He drifted off into a light doze for a while, the painkillers demanding that he shut down, and he woke once or twice, but each time he went back to sleep. When he woke the third time, he felt a bit better, but still, his brain was like a big piece of mush, each thought sloshing through and failing to make a connection with the next. Karr was still there, guarding, protecting, and he smiled slightly.   
It took another hour until he was conscious enough to get off the couch. He stumbled into the bathroom and gazed at the mirror image. Nick winced as he discovered the pale skin and the dark circles under his eyes. Lines of pain were deeply etched into his haggard features. A shower roused him, but it was an ordeal to get out and into his clothes. Karr didn't say anything at all until Nick sank down on his bed, feeling out of breath and shaking from the simple task of taking a shower.   
I'm failing to raise Knight>   
Why doesn't this come as a surprise?> Nick mumbled, focusing on the clock. It was close to ten p.m.   
Kitt also fails to show any reactions>   
You lowered the shields?>   
No. I'm listening. I can't feel him behind the shields or anywhere close. He has retreated>   
Is that good or bad?>   
Karr had no answer for it. He was just as disturbed by all of this as Nick. So, what now? Nick wasn't in any shape to go out and follow Michael to where he had gone for this case. Kitt's attack had effectively crippled his thinking and reactions, throwing him off balance and making him dependent on Karr's protection.   
What was Michael doing?> he asked after a while.   
Investigating unauthorized computer intrusion at the Institute of Electronic Research and Development>   
Nick frowned. Michael had left yesterday evening. The case had sounded simple enough. Some teenage kids were hacking into computers and stealing data. The Foundation had been asked by the institute to look into it. The police thought the hackers were simply teenagers testing their skills, probably some of the kids in the institute's program. Michael suspected that the teenagers were working for a major hacker, who was selling off the data 'acquired' to international bidders.   
When did he last report?>   
Ten hours ago>   
Nick rubbed his aching head. Ten hours. Two hours before the attack on him. Had something happened throughout those two hours?   
What did he say?>   
Nothing conclusive. He was about to investigate further into one of the teenagers in the computer program>   
Nick stared at the wall, lost in thought. It took a bit longer to get going on logical thinking than usual. He felt like someone had drained him of all energy.   
Could you get into Kitt's CPU without being at his mercy?>   
Karr was confused. Why?>   
To get an idea of his location. Of where Michael is>   
More confusion. It's possible, but it would leave you vulnerable, Nick>   
He smiled dimly. I can work on shields, partner. He caught me by surprise. He won't manage it a second time>   
Karr fought against his better judgment of the situation. Self-preservation was hitting him hard over the head. If he lost Nick, he would die. Pure and simple. Nick was part of him; he couldn't lose that part. But something had turned Kitt into a vicious, feral killing machine. They had to find out what it was and stop it.   
Do it> Nick told him softly, then fell back onto the bed, eyes drifting closed. He wasn't falling asleep. He was preparing for the worst.   
Karr stayed for a while longer, watching his partner's mind even out, become quiet, collecting itself. Then the first shields rose. He retreated, feeling a pang of foreboding. Nick would simultaneously shut him out as well, wall himself off in a tight little cocoon and then spread the shields further and further. No part of Karr could remain with him or he'd endanger his driver. Finally, he was outside Nick's mind, completely in his CPU. He turned to where a strong block was keeping Kitt from breaking through again. With a last look at where Nick now sat safely protected, he broke down the block and started to inch toward Kitt's CPU.

* * *

Somewhere, he existed. He didn't know much about himself, just that he was; had been; should be. It was all so confusing. He knew there was something to him, that he was missing himself; part of himself. But he couldn't say why or how he had managed to lose this part.   
Around him, there was nothing.   
There should have been something. More than just something... someone. Several someones. But who? He couldn't catch a coherent thought, though his logic processes were doing fine. What had happened? Who was he?   
Then it came. It touched him, ran questing fingers over his outer shell, and he flinched. What was it? What did it want?   
The next thoughts were not his own. They were infused into him like liquid fire, taking up his thinking, his action, and he went with them. They did things, they acted for him, and he was just a watcher. He watched as part of him lashed out against what had touched him and he felt the other withdraw, hurt. Not badly, but hurt.   
Who?   
Why?   
How?

* * *

Nick roused to Karr's approach, dropping enough shields for his partner to touch him.   
He's in danger> Karr said immediately.   
What happened?>   
I can't tell for sure, but something... controls him. It's Kitt but not Kitt. He's different but still the same>   
Nick sat up, slightly confused. Okay, slowly. Where is he and what is wrong with him?>   
I'm not sure about his location, but he is under someone's control> Karr tried to explain what he had felt. It feels like Kitt, it's him, but he is different. His warmth... it's locked up. Someone is using the power he wields and his personality... it's somewhere else. It's so deeply locked inside a prison, he can't get out>   
He attacked you again?>   
Yes, but he didn't leave any lasting damage>   
Michael?>   
The link is dead. Blocked.>   
Nick sighed and swallowed a few more pills. He stumbled to his feet and managed to dress in fresh clothes with a minimum of swaying and bumping into things. He was downstairs where Karr was parked an hour later.   
"What are you doing?" Karr asked as his partner fell onto the driver's seat.   
"The institute is in Sacramento, right?"   
"Affirmative."   
"Then that's where we are headed." He felt Karr's protests rise inside his mind, but he shook his head. "We are going. I promise to leave the driving to you and sleep some more."   
Karr grumbled softly. "We don't even know Knight is there."   
"No, but it's a start."

* * *

Michael was confused. He didn't know what had happened; exactly anyway. He knew someone had grabbed him, he knew there had been a sudden loss of Kitt, then ... only blackness. Now the blackness had made way to light. He was in a bare room and his head hurt.   
//Kitt?//   
There was no reply. Where usually his partner's presence resided was only nothingness. A shiver of fear raced through him.   
//Kitt!// he tried again, this time more forcefully.   
Again, no reply. He was running into a wall.   
Michael tried to recall what had happened. He had visited the Institute for Electronic Research and Development. He had met with someone; the name eluded him. Thinking was like wading through a swamp. He had been shown around. Then, blackness. They had knocked him out somehow. He thought he remembered a faceless creature ordering him to be drugged before he had lost consciousness. And Kitt was no longer there. It didn't feel like the black, sucking hole he had felt when they had been separated by Geiger's cuff. It was more like a solid brick wall.   
What.... was going on?

* * *

IERD, the Institute for Electronic Research and Development, was an eccentrically designed, ultra-modern building made of glass and white plastic over steel. Silvery outlines sparkled in the afternoon sunlight and the gigantic octagonal dome stretching over it gave it the appearance of a crystallized child's toy. A transparent tunnel connected it across a large parking lot to another building that was more conservative in design. It contained a vast museum mainly dedicated to electronic achievement throughout the ages and what the future held in store. The IERD was open for the public, though rarely anyone but teachers with their classes came here.   
Nick parked Karr close to the entrance and got out. His eyes were hidden behind shades and he was dressed in his usual, black outfit. A large sign proclaimed that IERD was the first among equal research institutes and that visitors were welcome. The smoked glass doors slid back, revealing a gigantic entrance hall. His steps echoed slightly in the cavernous room. From somewhere further inside, children's voices could be heard. Apparently a school class.   
"How can I help you?" a man in a guard's uniform inquired as Nick approached the long desk that stretched to the left. Leaflets were scattered over it, colorful brochures of the institute.   
"My name is Nicholas MacKenzie, Foundation for Law and Government. A colleague of mine, Michael Knight, is working in the building. I'd like to talk to him," Nick said smoothly.   
The guard typed the name into his computer. "I'm sorry, sir, but no one of that name is currently in the building."   
"Can you tell me when the last time was he came in?"   
Another few keystrokes answered that question. "We haven't had a visitor with that name."   
Nick frowned. "He was supposed to meet with someone here."   
"Well, sir, he didn't."   
Suddenly the phone rang and the guard picked it up. He nodded once and said, "Yes, Ma'am", then hung up. "Dr. Nao will receive you."   
Nick didn't comment and simply walked past the guard's desk, following the man's direction to the top floor.   
"Mr. MacKenzie."   
The figure sweeping toward him immediately put him on guard. Dr. Nao was a woman in her mid-thirties, a perfectly underdressed, dark-haired beauty with mocha-colored skin and large, brown eyes. She wore next to no jewelry and still was a sparkly presence all by herself. The designer clothes were of moderate colors and she showed no more skin than was acceptable even in the most conservative circles.   
"Dr. Ardana Nao," she introduced herself, shaking his hand firmly. "You are the man from the Foundation we were expecting?"   
"No, I'm the man looking for the man from the Foundation," he corrected her neutrally. "Michael Knight."   
Her face drew into a frown. "I can't say the name rings a bell. You are the first of the Foundation to come here, Mr. MacKenzie. We expected you three days ago."   
"You expected Michael Knight."   
"I was never given a name, I'm afraid."   
Right, Nick thought. He reported back to us that he had arrived at IERD and now you want to tell me you never met.   
"Has something happened to Mr. Knight?" Ardana asked, sounding worried.   
"We don't know."   
"Why, that's terrible. I hope he is all right."   
"So do I." Nick studied her features, then gave her a calculated smile. "I'm sorry to have bothered you, Dr. Nao. Thank you for your time."   
"Oh, that wasn't a bother. Any time. And call me Ardana." She smiled at him and Nick gave her a neutral nod. "I do hope nothing has happened to your colleague."   
"So do I. Good day."   
"She's lying," Karr remarked the moment Nick was back inside the Stealth.   
"Through her teeth," Nick agreed. "Dig up her file."   
The Stealth pulled out from the parking lot.

* * *

The room looked like a space ship control bridge. The walls were rounded, sectioned into rectangles, and indirect, blue light bathed the arrays of computers and monitors into a strange atmosphere of surrealism. There were three computer consoles, two of them currently occupied. The third monitor was lit but showed a screensaver running. There was a faint smell of ozone. A neon orange plush cat sat on one of the monitors and some childish toys littered the empty space around one keyboard.   
"I checked him. He is who he claims to be."   
She frowned. "The Foundation has another agent?"   
"Apparently. Oh, and he shows similar readings as Knight."   
Now Ardana's frown deepened for real. "He was implanted?"   
"Apparently. The scan I managed was only for a second or two as he passed through the door, but he has an implant in his brain and from the tissue scarring, it's been there for a while."   
"How much 'a while'?"   
"Longer than Knight's. It also seems to be slightly different." The teenager shrugged. He was sixteen, lanky, pale, and had a spiky haircut. His hair was a bright purple. "Get him to me and I can tell you more."   
Ardana thoughtfully studied the security camera feed on her latest visitor. Nicholas MacKenzie. She had been immediately wary of him. He radiated an air of danger that set her alarms off. Now Ric had discovered he was implanted. What was the Foundation doing? Human experiments? Well, it didn't matter. She had what she wanted and she would use it. Michael Knight would soon disappear completely, but for now they kept him under sedation. The Knight Industries Two Thousand was nothing but a toy under her control now. The moment Ric had him under control, could lead his attacks to where she wanted him to go, the Foundation would perish.

* * *

"Dr. Ardana Deidre Nao. Head of the computer teaching program for the Institute. There isn't much on her file. She worked for the Foundation in a cooperation program three years ago. The contract had been taken out by her employer, Broadside Computers, and lasted for two months."   
Nick frowned and regarded the picture of the dark-haired, exotic looking woman. The brief encounter they had had in her office had set him on edge and he didn't know why. All his inner alarms were ringing loudly.   
"Get me more on the two month contract. What was it about?" he asked.   
Karr was silent for a moment as he searched the FLAG database. Nick leaned back, briefly closing his eyes. Despite having slept all the way to Sacramento, he felt beaten.   
"Dr. Nao was a consultant on integrating computer software into the FLAG mainframe that her company had developed," Karr startled him out of his doze. "The mainframe crashed several times, taking valuable data with it, and the Foundation decided not to buy her software."   
"Hm." Nick still gazed at the picture. "So what's her deal now? She is lying, I'm sure of it. Michael was here and he didn't leave. Can you scan the building for any e-signatures of Kitt?"   
"I already tried. The electronic interference from the equipment the institute uses is too great. I could hardly keep track of you, Nick."   
"What?"   
"Something inside is scrambling the implant signals."   
A cold shiver raced through him. Not good. Not good at all. If Nao had found a way to interfere with the implants.... But how could she possibly know? Only accidental, he thought. There was absolutely no way anyone could know otherwise.   
What would she want Kitt for?   
"I can think of a number of things," Karr replied. Nick hadn't even been aware of speaking out loud.   
"So can I," he muttered. Still, what was it she in particular wanted? "Call Devon. I want to know what happened back then."

*

"Ardana Nao." Devon almost grimaced at the name and it was apparent that he didn't have many fond memories of the woman.   
Nick nodded. "Former consultant for Broadside Computers, current head of the computer teaching program for gifted children at the IERD."   
Devon frowned. "Are you sure?"   
"I talked to the woman, Devon. She works there. She denies any knowledge of Michael's presence. Who is she? What happened back then?"   
Devon sighed. "It wasn't a very pleasant cooperation, Nicholas. We asked Broadside Computers to supervise the update of our mainframe with a new software they had developed. Dr. Nao was present throughout the two months contract time we had agreed upon. Their presentation of the new program had been promising and successful."   
"What kind of program?"   
"A new security net. We had had serious hacker problems and though our own programmers rallied to secure FLAGNet, we failed every time. Broadside approached us after one of our programmers mentioned them, and the Board agreed that outside software might be what we needed. The installation was a disaster. The computers broke down, runtime slowed to a crawl, it even started to affect Kitt."   
"How?"   
"Kitt came in for a service interval and because he was connecting to the servicing computer, he was nearly infected with a viral strain. Broadside tried to undo the damage their software had done, but by the time they pulled it all out, FLAGNet was open and vulnerable. We had to shut everything down. The Foundation sued Broadside and they in turn sued Dr. Nao, whom they held personally responsible. I don't know what happened to her."   
"She apparently left Broadside. She's here now." Nick drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "Anything else?"   
"No. We managed to repair the damage done, but it was difficult."   
"Thank you, Devon."   
"Do you think she is involved?"   
"I don't know. What I do know is that Kitt was used to attack me and Michael wasn't there to stop him."   
With that he switched off the com line, leaning back.   
"You do think she is involved," Karr remarked.   
"She is suspicious. What she does is suspicious. Try to get me anything on her. Her work, her students, her records with the institute."   
"What are you going to do?" Karr wanted to know as he got out of the car.   
Nick smiled slightly. "Get something to eat, then have a look around, interview some of the students. Call me if you have something."   
Karr acknowledged and Nick went over to the small restaurant he had seen on his way in already.

* * *

Nick had spent most of the afternoon talking to various students who were at the institute, some of them under the tutelage of Dr. Nao. None of them were older than eighteen, all came from broken families or criminal backgrounds, and all had shown a remarkable skill at computers. The institute ran a program for children and teenagers that were bright but had used those skills only for criminal activities. It was a pilot project, the end of the first year of the program, actually. So far, they had achieved good results.   
Dr. Nao seemed to run private tutelage courses as well, mostly attended by no more than two or three of the most promising of students. Nick had their names now and was planning to look into their files.   
His next call went out to Dr. Bonnie Barstow.   
"Broadside Computers?" Bonnie frowned as he asked her about the software company. "Yes, I remember the episode back then. It was bad and I think they went bankrupt after the Foundation was through with them. Their insurance was too low to cover all of our actual costs and losses, so the company itself was liable. The Foundation took every last penny and still came up with losses."   
Nick nodded slowly. "Now one of their people made a reappearance right when we lost contact to Michael and Kitt."   
"Who?"   
"Dr. Ardana Nao."   
For a second, Nick was glad there was only a video link between him and Bonnie. She looked furious and her face was drawn into a mask of barely suppressed hatred, her eyes turning cold.   
"That.... bitch!"   
"Dr. Barstow, I'm shocked," he chuckled.   
"Well, it's what she is!"   
Nick grinned. "So you met?"   
"You could say so!" she exploded. "This... woman had the nerve to ask me about Kitt, about his development, everything! She went as far as seducing Michael because I wouldn't tell her!"   
"I see."   
Bonnie glared at him and he gave her a smile. "She's working for the institute, hm?"   
"Yup. I don't trust her, Dr. Barstow. Something's up and she's hiding it."   
"You think she's responsible for Michael and Kitt's disappearance?"   
"She's involved."   
"I'm going to....." Bonnie broke off, anger flooding her face again. "If she has dared to hurt my baby, she will regret it!"   
Nick's smile widened briefly. "Get in line."   
He broke the connection and thoughtfully gazed at the ultra-modern building. Somewhere inside were Kitt and Michael. He was sure of it. He simply had to find out where. Karr was still trying to get the blueprints of the floor plans. Nick sighed and rubbed his forehead. The headache that been with him ever since Kitt's attack wasn't easing up and he was unable to concentrate on anything for more than a few hours. It was a handicap, but he had to work with it, or around it. Whatever was acceptable.

* * *

"We're ready to give this another try." Ric, the purple-haired teenager, smiled at his teacher.   
Ardana returned the smile with as much sexual power as she dared use on the puberty-stricken youth. He would do anything for her and she knew it. She just had to push the right buttons.   
"What about the failure that occurred last time?"   
Ric shrugged. "That was unexpected. I guess he took the simplest way into a system close by. Can't determine just what it was, but it was probably completely destroyed."   
She nodded and walked over to where the black TransAm containing the precious little CPU sat. Its hood had been torn off and the innards exposed. He was at their mercy and he didn't even know what was happening to him. Perfect. The moment her plans were complete, she'd use him to her content and then throw him away. Ardana Nao wasn't interested in money; only revenge.   
"Do it," she simply said.   
Ric turned to his computer console and nodded at the two other teens working in the room. They started their work.

* * *

The Knight estate was an impressive and very old building, erected on a sprawling two hundred acres, surrounded by lush green, a swimming pool in the back and a small forest keeping it separated from the rest of the world. But the most impressive and also largest structure on the premises was an enormous shell of corrugated steel that could have doubled as an airport service hangar for large passenger planes. It was surrounded by a lip of concrete and connected to the north to the estate's private airstrip. The eastern doors had to be at least seventy-five feet high and the whole structure dwarfed everything.   
One half of the building was a vast, open testing space, roofed and immune to weather changes. The other was a multi-storied honeycomb of laboratories, testing cubicles, experimental environments, warehouse facilities and offices. It was a small, compact research facility, one of many from Knight Industries. It was Bonnie Barstow's workplace, even though she had declared her alliance with Michael Knight a long time ago. Michael had won against Jennifer Knight in a battle of ownership for the Knight Industries Two Thousand, and he had moved into Nick's warehouse, but she was still employed at the Foundation.   
Currently, she was trying to keep herself busy with monotone computer work, checking old programs, throwing away what was unnecessary. The Semi was parked in the gigantic hall, Peter, the usual driver, was doing servicing work with some of the mechanics and technicians. Michael hadn't needed them in Sacramento, so they had decided to do some already long-overdue work. That Michael was missing now was heavily on everyone's mind and Bonnie wished there was something she could do. Anything at all!   
The overhead fluorescent lights flickered once, twice, then there was a snapping shriek of an electrical discharge and the lights popped out and died. The console she was working at gave a squelch of static, then fell silent as well. The computer screens winked out, the whole system crashing.   
"What the....?" she started, but a string of Irish curses, none for the faint-hearted, took her own anger out of her mouth. Brian O'Malley, one of the usual mechanics around here, was angrily glaring at one of the screens, then thumped it hard.   
The back-ups sputtered into life.   
"What happened?" a disembodied voice asked.   
"Power disruption," Bonnie answered without even looking around for the speaker and tried to access the power controls.   
There was only rubbish on her screen. None of it made sense. She reached for the phone, but it was dead. Frowning, Bonnie got out her cell phone and dialed Devon's number.

* * *

"I just received a call from Dr. Barstow. The Foundation is experiencing sudden computer problems."   
Nick sat up straight and blinked. "What?"   
"Something invaded the FLAGNet mainframe and briefly wreaked havoc on all files. It lasted ten seconds and then the back-ups kicked in. Some programs were corrupted and communication was down for an hour afterwards," Karr reported.   
Nick's brain jump-started. "What got in and when?"   
Karr was silent for a moment. "Unknown," he then answered. "None of the security protocols saw anything, let alone activated."   
He cursed softly, then grabbed the cell. Bonnie answered after the third ring. "I heard what happened," Nick said briskly. "Is the mainframe operational again? Good. Check for Kitt's log-in anywhere..... Yes, I know... Dr. Barstow, just do it." Nick waited, then he briefly closed his eyes. "Thanks. No, I can't tell you more. It was just a hunch." He hung up.   
"It was Kitt?" Karr asked neutrally.   
"Yes. He used his codes to get inside. None of the watchdogs would scream alarm if he browses through the system. He went in, wreaked havoc, then disappeared again."   
"Why?" Karr sounded mystified.   
"Same reason why he attacked me." Nick massaged his knotted shoulder muscles. "Someone's behind it and my bets are on Dr. Nao."   
"How can she control him? There is no way!" Karr snarled. "It's impossible!"   
"Apparently not completely impossible. She found a way."   
"She would have to get into his CPU. Kitt would never allow it."   
Nick sighed. "I know. We just have to find out how she did it, then we have all the answers."   
"How?"   
"I'm going to pay her a late night visit."   
"That might be dangerous."   
"I know I'm walking into the lion's mouth, but it might just be what we have to do." Nick gazed thoughtfully at Karr's dash. "Could you go into Kitt's CPU once more if need arose?"   
Karr was slightly confused. "Yes," he answered. "But why should I? He's not there."   
"I know. Is it possible to find him?"   
"If they have left a traceable line to where they put his soul, yes."   
He nodded slowly. "So if there is a line, he could go back."   
"For that, the program that keeps him from it has to be taken down."   
"Or circumvented."   
Karr was silent. "Or that."   
Nick smiled and the AI didn't like it at all.

* * *

A lone figure crept through the twilight of the approaching night. It was only a shadowy outline whisking over the almost empty parking lot and scaled the wall of the squat building.   
"Here we are," Nick muttered as he landed almost noiselessly on the broad roof of the museum building. He looked around and discovered the narrow skylight. The entrance. He ran over to it and peered intently at the glass.   
Security was one of the major factors here. There was no such thing as absolute perfection. Every system had its faults, every program a weakness. All he needed to do was find it. He slid the small backpack he was wearing off his shoulders and opened it. He slipped on a pair of goggles and gave the skylight another look. He grinned. A wall of light beams greeted his enhanced eyes and he shook his head. Simple. Easy to get by. Under normal circumstances any attempt to bypass these heat sensing beams would be greeted by alarms going off and alerting the guards, but Nick was adept at dealing with unusual circumstances. He worked by abnormal and inventive means, keeping himself updated in the world of security-countermeasures. And then there was the fact that he had known about the light beams' existence and had prepared. It was fascinating what one could find in a computer when one searched for it.   
The thermal body suit he wore had been specially crafted by someone he knew and who kept him supplied with whatever he needed. He pulled the hood over his head, hiding not only his head but also his face. Goggles completed the picture and Nick now looked like a giant, black bug. Probes were wired to certain areas of the suit and he checked the setting on the wristwatch he wore. They tracked his rising body temperature. Silently he cracked the rather simple lock, well, in his opinion simple lock, of the roof entrance and opened the skylight. It was barely large enough for a human to get through.   
There was no alarm and no one was yelling, so he had not been seen yet. The probes checked the room temperature and when he descended, they kept the suit's temperature just as high, telling the heat sensors that nothing had changed. Stopping briefly to make sure he was still undetected, he slipped through the exhibition rooms.   
I'm in> he sent, then wound his way through rooms and hallways, down dimly lit passages and stairways.   
He ran into a guard once, who didn't see the intruder, and had to pass by a security system twice. No problem so far. He had no eyes for the exhibits, some of the quite valuable; his aim was for the bridge that connected the main building with the museum. The doors were secured by an alarm, but Karr was following his movements and was able to interfere with the regular alarm systems. Nick was across the bridge in no time.   
Using the floor plans, Nick made his way through the silent entrance hall and toward the elevator shafts. According to the plans, there was a vast underground level and the elevator shaft was his ticket in. He called one of the elevators, then slipped inside and quickly climbed out of the top, scurrying up the handrails at each side of the shaft.   
Send it up> he told Karr as he wedged himself into the man-sized indention at one point.   
Nick knew he would later have an incredible headache. Karr had to boost the signal of the implant because of whatever was disrupting their communication, and it would reflect right back on him.   
The elevator rose past him, then stopped. Nick glanced down and smiled. Good. Nothing in his way. He launched a hook that buried itself into the bottom of the elevator and secured it. Then he attached himself to the thin rope that was able to carry several times his weight without even straining. Nick's body suit had an inbuilt gymnast's safety harness and he now cinched up the pivots and hooked the nylon lines through them. He hung in the air like a trapeze artist, using a remote to control the little generator that was attached to the hook and then lowered himself head first into the shaft. It was a long way down and he once told Karr to also lower the elevator to the ground level. It gave him more rope.   
Large numbers told him he was now looking at sub-level two. He looked like a skydiver suspended in mid-air. His stomach muscles protested but Nick ignored it. He was where he had wanted to be and all he had to do was to break the lock. He got out another high tech tool, placed the small, flat device against the pedestal and activated it. Almost immediately a holographic display appeared and the small machine whirred and clicked. The green display showed him the lock in all detail and how the little 'key' he had was cracking layer after layer.   
Finally it was done. Nick smiled briefly as the doors opened, then he climbed into the opening. The doors closed after him.   
"How nice of you to drop by for a visit."   
The voice startled him and before he could react, something pricked his skin. Nick saw Dr. Ardana Nao step around a corner and smile at him, then everything blacked out.

* * *

He knew it had happened again. He had done something that he normally wouldn't do. He had hurt something, he had destroyed more.   
Memories returned.

_"Ardana Nao!" Michael spat, struggling against the cuffs that kept him chained to the chair._   
_"I see your memory hasn't suffered, Michael." The dark-haired beauty swept toward him, smiling her deadly smile. "It's been such a long, lonely time." She ran a hand over his face._   
_He glared at her. "What do you want?"_   
_"I have an offer to make. An offer you won't be able to refuse."_   
_ "Try me."_   
_"You see, I know about Kitt. I know what you are, what you can do, and I decided to bring you in on this little adventure I have planned to undertake."_   
_Michael felt a little shiver race down his spine. They knew what he was? What was he? "What are you talking about?" he demanded._   
_"What I'm talking about is the artificial intelligence in your car and this little talent of yours."_   
_Michael felt his blood run cold. "What do you want from me?" he asked once more, a dangerous edge creeping into his voice._   
_"Something very simple. I want you to help me steal something." Ardana smiled lazily. "Steal and destroy. All of the Foundation's oh-so secret files. You are my ticket in; you and Kitt. You, because you are a hostage; Kitt, because he can get in and out of the mainframe without a problem."_   
_"You are crazy."_   
_"I like to call it 'genius'."_   
_"And how do you think I can help you? I can't force Kitt to do anything!"_   
_Ardana laughed. "Oh, but you can." She approached and Michael glared at her. "In here," she added, tapping his forehead. "All's in here. Your power, my strength. My bargaining chips.... This little implant will transmit what you feel. It will transmit pain, right?"_   
_Something inside him twisted violently and his stomach turned into an icy knot. "You are a sick person, Ardana!"_   
_"I'm vengeful, maybe, but not sick. You destroyed my chance to get to the Foundation's data once. Not again!"_   
_She turned around and gestured at the boy who had until now stood back. He punched a code into the lock that kept one of the wall panel closed. Now it slid back, revealing a lab behind him. Michael felt the ice in his stomach turn into a glacier._   
_//Kitt!//_   
_There was no reply, though the presence he still felt shifted slightly._   
_"We have blocked you from your partner," Ardana went on, walking around the black car, fingers trailing over the gleaming skin. "We can raise that block, unscramble the signal, and he will feel everything! Unless he unlocks the hood."_   
_"Kitt, no!"_   
_"Michael?" Kitt questioned._   
_"Don't do it!"_   
_Ardana suddenly had a small, slender gun in her hand. "Oh, but he will." Without further warning, she shot him._   
_Michael felt the projectile slice into his lower leg and he yelled in pain. For a moment, he had the distant sensation of the scrambler turning off, the full agony of the injury racing through the link, then it was back on again. But it had been enough. He had felt the warm, white presence of his partner, the fear and desperation. It made him mad with rage._   
_"Open the hood," Ardana repeated._   
_"No!" Michael breathed._   
_The gun aimed again._   
_"Don't!" Kitt cried._   
_"Open the hood!"_   
_"You won't get my cooperation by killing him!"_   
_Ardana's smile turned downright nasty. "Who said anything about killing? The human body is an amazing construction, Kitt. It can function for a very long time, even when parts are missing."_   
_Michael paled, fury building in his eyes, but he kept quiet._   
_Finally, Kitt clicked open the hood. Defeat spread through Michael and he looked away as two teenagers swarmed toward the car and the CPU._   
_"I know that your cooperation won't be a voluntary one," he heard Ardana say and dared to look at Kitt. "You might get out of hand. Which is why my young friends here came up with this enchanting little program. It will keep you in check."_   
_One of the boys started to unplug the CPU from the car's systems and Michael's desperation rose._   
_//Kitt!// he sent frantically. //No!//_

He was confused after that point. They had done something to him and now he was doing bad things. He didn't have enough strength and coherent thought to fight his way out of this swamp.   
What was his name?   
Kitt.....   
The name drifted past him and he thought it sounded familiar. His name was Kitt. And he didn't belong here. Not like this.   
Finally awareness returned like a slap into his face and Kitt gave a choked gasp.   
No! No, impossible!   
Michael, he whispered. Help?

* * *

Nick woke in a cold and semi-dark room, lying on the floor. It was dry, but still uncomfortable. He was still wearing his body suit, but the controls had been ripped out. He looked around. Except for a derelict construction that might have once been a desk and something looking like a chair, there was nothing here. He got himself into a sitting position and leaned back against the wall. He rubbed his head, which was aching badly. Whatever it was Ardana had shot him with, it had been quick and effective. It was also adding to what Kitt's sudden attack had left him with; a slowly increasing migraine.   
But well, his plan had worked. He smiled coldly.   
The discussion with Karr about the pros and cons about this outrageous experiment had lasted over an hour. His partner hadn't been happy and Nick couldn't really say that he was all that amused about his own idea either. It was risky and it would require precise timing by Karr. Just a slight miscalculation and Nick might end up a vegetable.   
Nothing he was looking forward to.

* * *

It was a ludicrous plan. Totally outrageous. And about the only solution Karr currently saw as well; except for a full frontal assault: blasting into the institute. That wouldn't get them anywhere. So now he was retracing his earlier steps through the private channel he shared with Kitt into the other CPU, aware that if Kitt decided to attack, Nick was wide open and vulnerable. His human partner had currently only his basic shields up and the interference from whatever Nao used to scramble the implant was making it difficult to maintain contact.   
Finally he was in. Kitt's CPU was similar to his own, but currently, its occupant was missing. At least mostly. There was a presence, but it wasn't Kitt. Not by a long shot. It was a dark gray blob of something, missing the soul of the other AI, and he carefully approached. He noted the spidery fingers that were touching several of the programs, saw the ripples and pulses of the alien thing, and then discovered the thin line that snaked away from the presence. Aha. Reaching for Nick, he anchored himself in the implant.   
Karr was walking along almost invisible lines, carefully picking his path around trip wires and security. The alien program was like a dark cloud hovering above him, a hungry predator ready to strike. One false step in the wrong direction and he would be prey. He was following an easy to navigate path along the signals of Nick's implant from inside IERD, something he had been able to locate with ease. The booster was helping tremendously. He wasn't leaving his own CPU completely, nor was he opening a door into the computer mainframe all around him. It was tempting though.   
The closer he got, the more powerful the emission became and he got more secure. He felt the implant's warmth; Nick's presence. And he felt another warmth. Kitt. Company mainframes were one thing; cold, impersonal, no life. AIs.... they burst with life, their thought patterns creating a kind of warmth, leaving pulses and images no one but they, and those two select humans bonded to two AIs, could see.   
And then he was in. It was like stepping into a room of light. There was no source of this light; it was just all around him. There was also no door or other opening. He was just there, in the middle of nowhere and yet still somewhere, and he knew he was where he should be.   
_Kitt?   
He felt his brother's surprise. _Karr? he whispered in disbelief.   
Relief, hope and fear rushed through him. Relief that he was no longer alone; hope that someone had found him; fear that whoever had trapped him had now also caught Karr.   
_We have little time and I'll explain everything later. I'm here to get you and Knight out, he said briskly, not giving Kitt any time to ask questions.   
_How?   
Karr sent a brief burst of what had happened what he expected him to do.   
_Nick will be hurt.   
_I know. It's an acceptable risk. I will tear a small hole into the mainframe and you'll use the carrier line I give you. It might not even be a millisecond   
_It will be enough   
Karr retreated out of the core and settled back outside, collecting his strength, waiting for the signal. This would give Nick one tremendous headache, but it would also be Kitt's only chance to beat what imprisoned him and find a way back into his own self.

* * *

Nick didn't like Ardana any more the second time he met her than before. She was dressed in a lab overall that did nothing to hide her beauty. With her hair swept back and bound into a pony tail, her features were cast into sharp relief by the artificial lighting.   
"Mr. MacKenzie," she greeted him warmly, as if he was simply a visitor.   
"Dr. Nao," he answered neutrally.   
"How nice of you to drop in."   
"I was in the neighborhood."   
"This could be called industrial espionage."   
"Let's call the police then."   
She laughed pleasantly. "I like you, Nicholas. You make me laugh." She walked up to him and Nick caught a whiff of her perfume. "This will be fun."   
"Where is Michael Knight?"   
"I don't know who you are talking about."   
"Michael Knight, agent for the Foundation. The man you tried to seduce several years back," Nick said calmly.   
"You checked my background. Good bad boy. But it's such a common name and a woman has so many .... friendly acquaintances. It's hard to keep track." Ardana ran a finger over his neck and around the rim of his body suit. Nick remained silent. "I know about you, Nicholas."   
"I would have expected as much."   
"And about what sits here." She massaged the spot where his neck met his skull. "So intriguing. Technology is such pleasant entertainment, especially when it is such incredible technology."   
"Where is Michael?" Nick repeated.   
Ardana chuckled. "One-track mind. Are you as persistent in other areas of your life as well?"   
Nick gave her a frightfully cold smile. "Come and find out."   
"I like a challenge."   
"Answer my question, Dr. Nao."   
She turned away from him and smiled at the teenage boy who had been hovering in the back. "Ric found out a few very interesting things about you while you were unconscious, Nick. Your implant sits deeper, is older, shows more tissue scarring. You've had it for a long, long time, and according to a brain scan, it jump-started some dormant areas of your brain. You have been connected to something." She looked at him, smiling ferally. "Who or what?"   
"You seem to have all the answers already."   
She circled him. "Who are you really, Nick? The Foundation has no other agents. You weren't around back then. Who are you?"   
He smiled coldly again, refusing to answer.   
"Play your game all you want, but you can't stop me."   
"Because you control Kitt?"   
Ardana stopped, the smile stretching almost dreamily. "Yes, I have their greatest achievement.... I have their baby..... it's mine!"   
He frowned slightly. "Kitt belongs to no one, Dr. Nao. I think you are confusing things."   
She laughed again. "You are the one confusing things, Nick. I have the power here, and I will use it."   
"How did you get Kitt to follow your orders?"   
"Simple. Threats."   
He nodded slowly. "Thought as much. Where is Michael?"   
"Really persistent. I love that in a man," Ardana breathed.   
"Where is he?"   
She gestured at Ric, who activated a door panel and part of the wall slid back. Nick felt anger and relief battle for superiority. Kitt was in that room, surrounded by machines, thick cables snaking into the violated engine compartment. The hood had been forcefully removed.   
"Michael is safe," Ardana told him. "Very safe. We don't want to lose him before we have achieved our goal."   
"Why are you doing it? Only revenge?"   
"Isn't that enough? I think it is." She walked over to the car and Nick followed slowly. No mistakes now. "The Foundation ruined me, my name, everything!"   
"You sold them a faulty program."   
She laughed derisively. "Faulty? It did all it was supposed to do!"   
Nick frowned and looked at her anger-lit features.   
"No one knew, I expect," she went on. "No one suspected. It was what I was good at."   
"Theft."   
Ardana nodded. "I had been hired to get the Foundation's oh-so-secret files, confuse their mainframe long enough to get them out, but I failed." She angrily whirled around. "They ruined me!"   
"Usual danger of the profession." Nick shrugged, inching closer to Kitt. He gazed at the throng of cables. It made him feel sick. "So now you are using Kitt to get into the mainframe. Ingenious idea."   
She smiled, the anger fading into pride. "It's rather simple. You only need his cooperation to get into the CPU, then it's child's play."   
"How?"   
"Separate the consciousness from the body, and voila."   
Nick understood. He placed a hand on the smooth skin of the TransAm. "You can't win."   
"Oh? I think I already have. The last attack was the final test. We'll be ready soon."   
He shook his head. "Not soon enough." He concentrated all his energy into one thought. Karr, now!>   


Energy swept through the links, racing along lines preset and used so often, the AIs could follow the traces in their dreams. Karr veered a sharp right to keep away from the blocks that imprisoned Kitt, aware that the lighter presence was following him. He homed in on the link to Nick, drawing Kitt with him. It would be brief, powerful, and all-encompassing. For a second, Nick would suddenly be with two AIs, and then, hopefully, Kitt could slip along Nick's implant back into Karr's CPU and to his own.   
They descended upon the human mind.   


Ardana's eyes widened in startled surprise when an alarm went off in the back of the room. MacKenzie, his hand still on Kitt, stood rigid, his face screwed up in concentration, then he suddenly gasped in pain. His knees buckled and he collapsed against the side of the TransAm.   
"No!" Ric suddenly screamed. "He's leaving!"   
"What?" she snapped.   
"Kitt.... he's... jumped!" Ric stammered, staring at his screen. "Impossible! There was no connection to his CPU!"   
Ardana glared.   


Kitt knew what was happening. Karr was catapulting him across the foreign space, using Nick's implant as a homing signal to his CPU, which had been walled off from him by Ardana's programs. The booster was doing its part to keep the implant signal stable. He felt drawn through familiar channels, then touched, briefly, a mind he had never touched before so directly. It wasn't an impression he received, it was like a faint, whispering touch, then he was flung through Karr's CPU into his own. Familiar surroundings. He felt his mind and soul converge, become one, and he spread through his CPU. Part of him was still attached to Karr, but the other AI quickly untangled himself, flowing toward where Nick was going down under the booster onslaught and the sheer power output of two AIs using him as a bridge.   
//Michael?// Kitt breathed, turning toward where the outgoing line to his partner was.   
He was met by slightly fluctuating lines. Michael was there! He was not responding, but he was there!   
_Move! Karr snapped, jolting him out of his happiness.   
And he did. He had no trouble igniting the engine.   
_What about you and Nick?   
_We are not the issue, Karr told him cruelly. _Go!   
_Michael?   
_We will get him, now move your hide!   
Kitt was slightly shaken and briefly scared by the harsh tone of voice, then he moved.   


Nick came to with an incredible headache and the feeling that someone had hit him right between the eyes with a baseball bat. He blinked and focused on the ceiling above. He was still in the underground lab; the alarms were still screaming; he had been out barely for a minute.   
He knew he was in danger. Kitt was back in his body and he had torn away from the machines that had connected his CPU to the main computer. The kid, Ric, was scrambling to safety as the TransAm shot back and rammed itself into the wall, breaking the panels, cracking the concrete. Ardana Nao stood in silent rage, then her gaze swiveled to where Nick was trying to get to his feet. There was suddenly a gun in her hands and she didn't hesitate to shoot. The first shot rang through the hall, but it was drowned by Kitt's engine gunning and his tires squealing. The TransAm shot forward toward the double doors at the other end and broke through. Nick used his chance and launched himself at the woman.   
She was strong, he had to give it to her. And she knew a few tricks, but so did he. He grabbed her wrist, bent it back and she gave a yell of pain. They fought for several minutes when suddenly a gun shot rang out. Ardana stumbled back, surprise registering on her face, one hand coming away stained red from her chest. Nick's features were impassive as the woman crumbled to the ground. When he looked at the teenager, the boy shrank back under his gaze.   
"Where is Michael?" he asked pleasantly.

* * *

He didn't know how long he had been in this holding room. It wasn't a cell, just a square room with gray walls and two chairs. Not even a mattress or a bed. Michael had made the best of it, but the pain in his leg had worsened by the hour. He knew he had lost a lot of blood and he had managed to stanch the blood flow by tightening a makeshift bandage around the wound, but he needed medical help.   
There was a noise.   
Michael managed to scramble to his feet, not putting any weight on his injured leg, and stumbled over to the door. He had nodded off now and then, always searching for Kitt in his mind, never getting more than a faint presence that told him that his partner was still alive. His trained mind told him that he had to get out of here and that meant through the guard. He might have no chance and he had lost blood, but he had to rescue Kitt. He had to get away from here!   
The moment the door opened, he attacked. He shoved the guard back out of the prison cell, slamming him into the opposite wall. He heard an 'ouff', but wouldn't give the man time to react. With all his strength, he tried to hit the face. His blow was blocked and a strong hand grabbed his wrist.   
"Michael!" a voice hissed.   
Michael blinked, still feeling rather slow. The swift rush of adrenaline had dissipated. "Nick?" he slurred, the face coming into focus.   
"The very same."   
Michael sagged and Nick grabbed him, swaying briefly under the added weight. "Kitt?"   
"He's fine."   
He reached for his partner and felt something at the other end of the link, but it was faint, like reaching through wool. "Can't reach him...."   
"There's a scrambler active. Just let me get you out of here, then it'll be okay."   


Getting out was difficult. Michael wasn't able to walk properly and Nick was fighting an ever-increasing headache as well as the severe exhaustion creeping up on him. His head was close to exploding and every heartbeat pulsed through him with ten times the normal force. Finally they reached the now shattered doors of the underground lab, where a long tunnel led up to the surface. Kitt was waiting there, engine humming nervously. Nick didn't ask or hesitate. He dropped Michael into the open door.   
"Go," he told Kitt, then turned back to the now empty computer room. Ric had disappeared.   
Karr?> he sent, the word accompanied by a painful pulse.   
Don't send> Karr told him. The booster....>   
I know. I'm going to shut down the whole mainframe> He inhaled deeply, steadying himself.   
How?>   
I'm opening up a channel for you. You can do the honor>   
A dark smile reached him, then Karr left him alone as MacKenzie walked over to the still active computer station. Ric had left in a hurry and hadn't thought about securing the station. Working quickly, he found an outgoing line and dialed out, directly into Karr. His partner acknowledged and began his work. Nick staggered away from the computer, his head near exploding. He had no real recollection how he got out, only that he was finally in front of the IERD building. Karr appeared like out of nowhere and he gratefully fell against his partner's warm shell.   
"An ambulance is on the way," Karr rumbled, not using the severely strained mind-link. "The Mobile Unit has signaled that they are about ten minutes away."   
"Good." Nick swallowed back nausea. "Michael..... Kitt....?"   
"Together."   
He managed to get into the car. "Then let's get out of here..... And inform Devon."   
"Acknowledged."   
Nick sank into the welcome darkness as the Stealth took off.

* * *

Twelve hours after the incident, things were slowly getting back to normal. At least more or less. Michael was awake, though he tended to nod off after a while. His body was demanding rest and there was no fighting it. His friends were allowed to visit. Bonnie had not left the hospital except to get a few hours of sleep when Devon had promised he would keep vigil over the freshly operated on man>> Michael, and now she was back again.   
"How do you feel?" she wanted to know, curling her hand around his. Michael's eyes lay deep and fine lines of pain were etched around his mouth. "Are you in pain?"   
"No. No pain. But I feel lousy," he confessed with a smile.   
That drew an honest and relieved smile from her. "You lost a lot of blood."   
He nodded slowly. "Surprising for such a small wound."   
"It was a well-placed shot." Anger crept into her voice. "I wish I could get my hands on her!"   
"She's dead, right?"   
Bonnie nodded. "Lucky her. The kids she had employed for her hacking have been arrested. All of them have criminal backgrounds. Guess how she got them to work for her?"   
"Sex."   
Another nod. "Such a bitch!"   
Michael understood her anger, though he could think of a few more nouns to describe Ardana Nao.   
"Where's Nick?"   
"If he knows what's good for him, he's sleeping," she grumbled.   
Michael smiled dimly. Suddenly a feeling overwhelmed him, something he hadn't felt that pronounced for the last hours. Ever since coming to in a fog of drugs and memories, Kitt had hovered there, but hadn't really touched him.   
//Hey, pal//   
//Michael!//   
He heard barely suppressed emotions crawl into the voice.   
Kitt sent a warm wave, radiating shyness and insecurity. Michael reached out and pulled him closer. There was a lot of hesitation. He closed his eyes, feeling so immensely tired from the ordeal and the drugs he had been given.   
//How are you?//   
//Fine//   
//And now the truth//   
A sigh answered him. //Terrible// Kitt then confessed. //What I did….//   
//Was beyond your control, Kitt. No one blames you//   
//I nearly killed Nick!//   
Michael wasn't very clear on what exactly had happened and his mind was still rather sluggish. //What happened?//   
While he appeared to have nodded off to the outside, Michael was getting a full debriefing inside. He sighed deeply when Kitt had ended, a sigh only audible on the mental planes.   
//Have you talked to Nick?//   
//No!// Kitt exclaimed in horror.   
He touched him gently, drew him into a virtual hug. //Do it. It was an accident, unintentional….//   
//But what if….?//   
//No ifs, Kitt. Just what is now// Michael grew tired, the conversation through the implant draining him.   
Kitt hovered around him as he drifted off, holding on, needing the reassurance. Michael was only too willing to give it.

* * *

Nick had slept twelve hours straight. He hadn't woken, not even to the sunlight streaming through the windows, and only the need to go to the bathroom had finally roused him enough to set foot out of the bed. A shower revived him a bit more, but he still felt like packed in cotton wool, on top of being bundled up in a very thick blanket and buried in fluffy feathers. His brain was mush, but not in the bad way it had been a few days ago. He felt no pain, just groggy and sluggish. Dragging himself into the kitchen, he decided against black coffee and rummaged through the kitchen cabinet until he found instant cappuccino. While the waffles were in the toaster, he emptied a glass of orange juice, feeling better for having something to drink.   
He spent the next two hours just waiting for his mind to unclog and his body to decide to start working. He checked emails, but he didn't answer any. It was too much of an effort. Karr left him alone. He was there, yes, in the back of his mind, but he didn't approach him. From the way he felt, he was busy talking to Kitt and only a thin tendril had attached itself to Nick to keep an eye on him.   
Nick had no real recollection how they had arrived back home. Karr had driven, he had slept, then something had nudged him to leave the car and clamber up the stairs. He had done so, then collapsed in his bed, fully clothed, and slept. He still had to call Bonnie or Devon, he had to know about Michael, and he wanted to see how Kitt was. Speaking of which….   
Hey?> he sent carefully. To his relief, no pain accompanied the simple task.   
Good afternoon>   
He yawned. Situation?>   
Knight's in the hospital, Dr. Barstow is with him, and Mr. Miles is handling official matters>   
Kitt?>   
There was a second of hesitation. Still trying to talk to him> Karr then answered.   
Ah>   
Nick walked over to the railing. How are you?>   
Karr sent puzzlement. I'm perfectly functional. I wasn't affected by any of this>   
He smiled knowingly. Which hospital?>   
Parkview>   
Nick checked the time. He might just slip in before the end of visiting hours.   
"You are not driving in your condition!" Karr snapped as he approached.   
"That's what I have you for," he replied and leaned back, hands on the steering wheel for good measure.   
Karr grumbled something, but he backed out of the warehouse and started down the quay road.

*

_Kitt?   
The voice echoed through his mind and he winced. He didn't want to talk to Karr. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now. The brief conversation with Michael had been too normal for his liking; there had been no blame, no fear, just acceptance. He didn't feel like it should be that way.   
_Kitt, I know you can hear me.   
Kitt ignored the dark voice. He wanted to be alone.   
Liar, a tiny little voice told him. He didn't want to be alone. He wanted someone around him, someone to comfort him. With a sigh, he acknowledged Karr's presence.   
_Why do you evade me? Karr now asked neutrally.   
_I don't, Kitt answered weakly, wishing he had not followed his feelings and come here.   
_Oh?   
Kitt sighed.   
_What's wrong?   
There was silence, then a tremor raced through the younger AI.   
_You know what's wrong! he finally cried. _She.... transferred all of me out of my mind, my body. And she destroyed ...my support systems... everything. Kitt started to tremble more. _She changed me! he whispered. _And then I hurt….. people….   
_No, she didn't change you, Karr objected kindly. _She used your outer programs, but she didn't taint your…. soul.   
It was strange to hear the darker AI talk like that.   
_She nearly succeeded with that as well, Kitt said in such a low voice even Karr had to strain to hear him.   
_Kitt? he questioned.   
_I nearly killed Nick! he then cried. _Your partner! How can you not hate me?!   
Karr curled around the brighter light. _I don't hate you, Kitt. I couldn't hate you. It wasn't you attacking, it was something without a soul…. Not you.   
_It was me. The evil me.   
_There is no evil you   
_There is evil in everyone. She showed me mine.   
Karr would have laughed if he hadn't thought it to be wrong somehow; Kitt would take it the wrong way. _Do you think I'm evil?   
Kitt gave him a surprised look. _No, he then said. _You never were. Only angry. Hurt….   
_I did all those terrible things, tried to kill you, but you don't call me evil?   
_No, of course not!   
_Was it always that way?   
Kitt hesitated, thinking back a few years, before he had truly found out about who his brother was, what anger and dark emotions resided in the scarred CPU. _Not always, he then confessed. _But now.   
_Why?   
_Because… I understand now.   
_And you understand what happened to you at Dr. Nao's hands?   
_Yes, but….   
Karr shook his virtual head. _You understand, that's the important part. She took your soul and used your mind. You are not evil, Kitt. As for Nick, he is okay. Headachy but okay. He's not blaming you and he's not holding this against you.   
_He simply forgave me?   
_There is nothing to forgive because this wasn't you   
_But….   
Karr sighed deeply. _You really like to argue this to death, hm?   
Kitt blinked, startled. _I… no, but…   
_There's the b-word again. Kitt, it happened, it wasn't you, and neither Nick nor I will hold this against you. We know what she did. We know it wasn't you consciously attacking Nick.   
Karr drew a gentle, dark finger over the white light. Kitt sighed.   
_I can't forgive myself as easily.   
_But you can accept that others do not blame you   
_Possibly   
_No, you will accept it. We will never blame you   
Another sigh. _I wish you would. It would make things easier.   
_I'd say it would complicate things, Karr objected.   
"Kitt?"   
Kitt was startled by the voice from outside and would have backed away if the fact that he was in a car that required a running engine to move hadn't hampered him. Nick was next to him in the parking lot of the hospital, now leaning comfortably against the black TransAm.   
"Nick," he managed.   
"Nice day," the dark-haired man said conversationally.   
Kitt didn't know how to reply. Nick was not the person to talk about the weather.   
"Michael's going to be released tomorrow, though he's already being the Patient from Hell." A smile swung in the voice.   
Kitt was still silent, not knowing what to say. All his conversation skills didn't really fit. He felt inadequate.   
Nick gazed over the rims of his shades at the silent car. "Karr told me about the problem."   
"Problem?" Kitt quivered.   
"You think I hate you. You think I'd never trust you again. You believe that whatever it was that went through the link was you." Nick was silent for a while. "I don't hate you, I do trust you, and it wasn't you, Kitt."   
"But…."   
"And 'buts' are not acceptable."   
"Nick…. what I did was the worst violation of a link I have ever been forced to …. see and feel," Kitt choked.   
Nick placed a hand on the sun-warmed metal. "I'm alive, Kitt. I don't hate you. What happened, it happened. You are not to blame for it and the person who is, is dead." He ran his palm over the paintwork.   
"I hurt you."   
"Something hurt me. Not you."   
"But…." Kitt tried to argue.   
"Ah!" Nick immediately called. "No 'buts'."   
"Nevertheless," he corrected himself doggedly, "Dr. Nao sent part of me through the link, into your implant, your mind, violating it, hurting you….."   
"Well, I guess I left a few marks of my own," Nick remarked with a faint grin. "It was unexpected, but I know my old defenses."   
"And you had Karr."   
"Exactly. Kitt, I'm fine. Headaches pass and no damage was done."   
Kitt sighed. "It's hard, Nick," he finally confessed.   
"It always is, but I don't want this standing between us. I trust you and Michael; with my life. So does Karr." His voice became thoughtful for a moment, and very soft. "We need you."   
Kitt was dumbstruck for a full five seconds, then he felt a strange warmth inside him. "Thank you," he said quietly, sincerely.   
Nick gently patted the side and pushed away from the car.

* * *

"IERD is shocked," Devon said, his face a mask of polite disgust. "Apparently, Dr. Nao used their tutelage program to collect teenagers who would then follow her every order. She was the one who hacked into the IERD mainframe to get the institute to ask for help. She even suggested the Foundation. It was all a set-up to get you and Kitt. The three boys who were mainly responsible for hacking into the computers confessed everything, down to the very last stolen byte."   
"What about the scrambler that took out the implant?"   
"They didn't develop it. Dr. Nao apparently knew something and she had instructed a scanner to be placed at the door. According to our technicians, it works like those airport scanners, looking for metal on the body. This one looked for metal especially in the cranium area."   
He frowned and Devon didn't look all that happy either. "She knew. But how?"   
"We don't know. IERD has given us permission to search all of Dr. Nao's files, as well as every recording one of her students made. They have apologized profoundly and have asked to relay their best wishes to you, Michael."   
Michael looked sourly at his foot and the crutches. While he was out of the hospital, he was condemned to hop around on these sticks and he couldn't drive. Kitt usually drove anyway, but it was bad nevertheless.   
"All police investigations are routed through the Foundation. You are only requested to put down your statement. With lack of a main accused, this will be over soon."   
"I hope so," he muttered.   
Devon smiled tightly. "How are you, my boy?"   
"Suffering from inactivity, Devon. This is killing me!"   
The older man smiled, then the smile took on a mischievous note. "Bonnie has taken a week off and should be with you in a few hours."   
Michael shot him a mock glare, the disconnected. He leaned back, looking at his elevated leg. This was really annoying.   
"Could be worse," Kitt piped through the com-link.   
"Yeah?"   
"Could be both legs."   
"You really know how to cheer me up, pal."   
"You are welcome," Kitt replied smugly.   
Michael shook his head and thoughtfully recalled what Devon had confirmed. Someone had leaked information about the implant to Ardana. Who? Why? He might never know, but he knew that Nick was already hunting for clues and traces, spreading the word among his numerous contacts. For now, it was over. The question was, would it someday rear its ugly head again?   



End file.
